Snipers posted around courthouse during murder trial

Deshay Hackner is escorted out of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse by sheriff's deputies, Tuesday, April 23, 2019, in Lafayette. Hackner is accused of killing Dewone Broomfield and Mary Woodruff in Vanderburgh County.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated that victims Dewone Brookfield and Mary Woodruff testified in murder suspect Deshay Hackner’s previous murder trial. That is inaccurate. They did not.

LAFAYETTE — Deshay Hackner stands about 5-feet, 6-inches tall — maybe 5' 7" — and while he appears fit, he doesn't come off as menacing, per se, until one hears what jurors won't hear and sees what jurors won't see.

The snipers posted on rooftops around the courthouse, for example. Jurors aren't likely to see them, but the public's noticed.

"It's because of the security of this case and what he's being accused of," Tippecanoe County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith said when the Journal & Courier asked about citizens' sightings of snipers around the courthouse square.

"I just know people are scared of him — more than anybody else we've dealt with," Goldsmith said.

But jurors likely aren't going to hear that Hackner was acquitted of murder in October 2017.

That's because the rules of evidence bar mentioning uncharged acts, including his 2017 acquittal, so unless Hackner testifies or the defense attorneys slip up and bring up the matters in front of the jury, they'll not hear of Hackner's relationship with his victims.

Tippecanoe Superior 1 Judge Randy Williams will have to rule about whether jurors hear of Hackner's alleged escape plan or his letters that prosecutors say have veiled references to killing witnesses in this case.

In Hackner's Dec. 5, 2017, letter to his wife, he indicates he's planning an escape, asking her to get a car ready and buy a "burner" phone — a prepaid cellphone with limited minutes or service, according to prosecutor's presentation to the court of the information in the letter.

Hackner instructs his wife — now ex-wife — not to activate the phone.

Hackner planned to escape, drive the car somewhere, then activate the phone and call her, based on what prosecutors said was in his letter, and a follow-up by a jailhouse phone call, according to arguments presented during Wednesday's hearing.

Conor O'Daniel, one of Hackner's defense attorneys, pointed out that Hackner was surrounded by guards and inside a secured jail, so he was highly unlikely to escape. It is, therefore, not plausible to take the plan in the letter seriously, so jurors shouldn't hear of the allegation.

In another letter to Hackner's brother, the 24-year-old Evansville man questions his wife and Rice's girlfriend's loyalty to him because they've been talking with police about the case. In the letter, he instructs his brother to stay close to the two women, and try to get them alone in one place, according to prosecutors' arguments during Wednesday's hearing.

Hackner's letter did not give specific instructions as to what his brother should do if he was alone with the two women, prosecutors said Wednesday, but they quoted the letter in which Hackner wrote, "I'll know when it's done by the news."

Williams' formal rulings on what jurors can hear will come after he's considered case law on the topics.

As for now, opening statements are scheduled to begin about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Hackner is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of robbery. He also faces several sentence-enhancing charges — two counts of life without parole and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a crime and one count of being a habitual offender.

His case was moved to Tippecanoe County in March 2018 after a Vanderburgh County judge granted a change of venue motion from Hackner's attorneys.

Rice, the other co-defendant, remains in Evansville, where he awaits trial later this year.

Tippecanoe County has tried many murder suspects with surly dispositions without snipers on rooftops, but Goldsmith and deputies are tasked with protecting Hackner, the witnesses and the public.

They aren't taking chances.

It's safe to say, anyone in the courthouse square for the next few weeks are being watched by police officers — seen and unseen, Goldsmith said. For security reasons, he did not say how far the security perimeter stretched beyond the courthouse square.

For those inside the courthouse, there also is enhanced security, and uniformed and undercover officers are not far away, Goldsmith said.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.